OREANDA-NEWS. The creation of the first National Plan for the development of precision agriculture; was the objective set out on 1 July at Milan Expo 2015 by the Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, Maurizio Martina. This objective is to be pursued by combining the expertise of organizations and public institutions with the best practices in the private sector.

These issues were the focus of the conference entitled "Agriculture today: the services and information technology systems / precision farming", held today at Milan EXPO 2015, sponsored by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MIPAAF) with Finmeccanica  Microsoft, CNH Industrial, Enama and Crea.

The Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, Maurizio Martina said: “I am convinced that Italy can become a leader in Europe in the use of technologies and innovation that can improve the efficiency of agricultural practices, focusing on environmental sustainability and increasing the competitiveness of our companies."

Finmeccanica, a global player in technologies for the aerospace, defense and security, leads the way in developing products and services that can meet the challenges associated with the sustainable development, also in the agricultural sector. Finmeccanica – Telespazio, engaged in the field of Earth observation and geo-information services, since 1992, collaborates with Italian and European institutions to ensure the support that technology provides in the development of the agricultural sector. This applies particularly in the management of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which for the period 2015-2020 provides for additional new requirements to safeguard the agro-environment which favor good farming practices, the maintenance or restoration of traditional ecosystems and not only the quantity of agricultural production.

Telespazio, together with the other partners, works with MIPAAF and AGEA for the management and control of the the use of Community aid each year to more than one million two hundred thousand Italian farms.

Remote satellite and aircraft sensing, the use of information systems such as GIS, location-based systems for the traceability of products, sensors, are the tools made available by technology, to the agricultural sector to increase efficiency and create sustainable development.

The services and applications provided by Telespazio bring space closer to earth, ensuring that the technology is really serving the needs of businesses and citizens. In agriculture, satellite technology allows complete and synoptic monitoring of the crop growth cycle in all its phases: from ploughing and sowing to harvest, by encouraging environmentally-friendly land management.

Technological innovation currently enables the development of more local services of "Precision Farming", which offer operational information localized on individual portions of agricultural land, allowing for improvement in product quality, saving time, energy, water resources, fertilizers and above all, reducing emissions and pollution.

Finmeccanica - Telespazio supports sustainable development by offering innovative solutions and efficient use of satellite technology in the service of a fundamental common good fundamental: our Mother Earth.